A recent study from the Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea shows that Sestrin2 suppresses Sepsis by inducing mitophagy and inhibiting NLRP3 activation. This study was published in the 2 August 2016 issue of the Journal “Autophagy” [the number one journal in autophagy with an impact factor of 10+] by Drs. Yoon JH, Kim MJ and others.

Given that: (1) molecular pathways and the mechanism of development of Sepsis is far from understood; (2) nearly 180 lakhs of people are affected by Sepsis each year globally; (3) the risk of death from Sepsis is anywhere from alarming 30% to 80%; (4) millions of deaths occur due to Sepsis each year globally; (5) Sepsis is the tenth leading cause of death globally; (6) Sepsis is the second-leading cause of death in non-coronary intensive care unit patients; (7) global economic cost spent in the treatment of Sepsis is little more than 2 billion US dollars each year; & (8) more than 90% of cases are registered in developing countries—that cannot afford high-cost treatment —compared to developed countries, there is an urgent need to find: (i) a way to inhibit Sepsis-causing agents that promote activation of inflammasomes, and aberrant secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators; (ii) a cheaper alternative to the existing expensive drugs; and (iii) a side-effect-free-Natural product-based drug.

Research Findings:

Epigallocatechin gallate, one of the components in green tea, protects the host from Sepsis via up-regulation of Sestrin-2 and inhibition of inflammasome NLRP3 activation